Wednesday, October 4, 2017

An Operatic Play Date with Dinosaurs

A play date with Rhoda and in the hall of dinosaursPhoto credit: American Museum of Natural History, R. Micken

Composer John Musto and librettist Eric Einhorn have
teamed up to bring a delightful little family friendly one-act opera to the
American Museum of Natural History. At roughly twenty minutes in length, Rhoda
and the Fossil Hunt tells the story of a real life little girl who nurtured
a fondness for her grandfather who was a real life pioneer in the field of
paleontology.

Rhoda's favorite place in the whole worldPhoto credit: R. Micken

When the opera begins in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs, we are
introduced to the inquisitive eight year-old Rhoda who adores nothing more than
spending time at the Museum of Natural History. By the looks of the large crowd
of children who hung on her every word, she is not alone in her love of the
place. The kids were all thrilled to be there, particularly in the dinosaur
wing. The whole spectacle really warmed the heart.

Rhoda then took us to see her grandfather Charles Robert Knight
who was about to begin work on a new commission from the museum director, Dr.
Henry Osborn. A new fossil has been unearthed and they need Rhoda’s help to
bring the creature to life by putting together the pieces of its skeleton and
completing an illustration of what it might have looked like. A real challenge
for an eight year old!

Over the course of Rhoda’s struggle to help solve the mystery of
what the whole skeleton might look like, she goes through a series of emotions,
mostly because she really doesn’t want to disappoint her beloved grandfather
and the director of the museum who are both counting on her. She gets down on
herself momentarily because it seems like too arduous a task for her meager
skills and experience.

But alas, she overcomes with the prodding of the scientists who
encourage her to look within. She has everything she needs to overcome the
obstacle, they assure her. All she needs to do is marry her imagination to her
rational faculties of scientific inference and the answer will be in reach. If
it’s that easy, then the opera makes it look like it’s something we all can do!

Never would I have thought that singing things like “scientific
inference” might sound good set to music, but Musto’s score overturned any
doubts I might have had. He set the whole thing in a pleasant package for a
small chamber orchestra, consisting of half a dozen strings, flute and
clarinet, that was pleasing to the ear and inventive. It had peaks of emotional
drama that drew on a classical musical vocabulary but also made a foray into a
rhythm and bluesy harmony in the climactic trio when the three singers exult
having accomplished their mission together, with Rhoda’s heroic help.

Rhoda has to overcome self-doubtPhoto credit: Allegri con Fuoco

The whole show was such a feel good outing that it was hard not to
come away with a great big smile on your face. And the kids all seemed to react
in much the same way. They scurried around behind Rhoda as she led them from
one display case to another where she modeled the behavior of an observant
young mind alive in the world.

Soprano Jennifer Zetlan charmingly embodied the curious
youngster with a bright-eyed freshness that was quite simply infectious. She
has a timeless youthfulness that was fun to watch in action and that really
spoke to the kids.

Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt
is smart and inspiring and puts on display exactly what the world needs more of
right now: demonstrations of the pursuits of the humanities fitting into the
work of the hard sciences like a hand in a glove.